Judge Hears ACLU’s Patriot Act Challenge

-- Library Journal, 09/08/2005

In a Bridgeport, CT, courtroom last week, U.S. Judge Janet C. Hall heard the ACLU’s challenge to lift the gag order regarding a request for records from a Connecticut library. ACLU, on behalf of its plaintiff, known as “John Doe” because of a provision in the Patriot Act the government to keep identities confidential, argued that the client’s constitutional right to free speech was violated by the gag order. “Doe wants to speak for himself,” Ann Beeson, associate legal director for the civil liberties group, told the court. “Any criticism of government power is entitled to the highest degree of protection.”

Kevin J. O’Connor, United States attorney for Connecticut, argued that lifting the gag order would harm ongoing government investigations. In an exchange that underscored the post 9/11 legal landscape, the New York Times reported that Judge Hall “prodded” Beeson as to how much leeway she thought the government was entitled to in curbing free speech in the name of national security. “The presumption is it’s unconstitutional,” Beeson replied, saying the burden is on law enforcement to show compelling need, and “they have to argue this gag is needed.” A ruling is expected this week; however it turns out, it likely will be appealed to a higher court.